Family remembers SLO County man who died in Highway 41 car crash: ‘He had a big heart’
When Los Osos resident Justin West wasn’t playing football, riding his dirt bike or off on another outdoor adventure, you could usually find him dancing.
His mother would often find the 20-year-old working on his truck, singing along to System of a Down or Primus and dancing around his workspace — with tools in hand and a smile on his face.
“He loved to sing and dance, even though he wasn’t very good at either one of them,” his mother, Johanna Sanders, said, with a laugh. “He didn’t care who was looking. He’d just be feelin’ it and start goin’ for it.”
West died in a car crash on Highway 41 in Morro Bay on Sept. 26 while driving home from visiting a friend, his aunt Julie Tacker said.
According to Tacker, law enforcement do not know the cause of the crash. A toxicology report showed that West was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his death, she said.
Los Osos man was ‘silly, outgoing’ as child
As a child, West was “silly, outgoing and confident,” Sanders said.
When West was about 4 years old, she remembered, his friends picked him up to attend a Fourth of July parade. His mother told him to pack a bag for the day, and he scurried off to his bedroom.
“He went and got a little tiny sandwich bag and put a sock in it and said, ‘I’m ready for the beach!’” Sanders said. “He was super proud of himself for being ready.”
Sanders and her husband, Josh, adopted West when he was about 2 from his biological mother, Johanna Sanders’ sister Janine. They adopted West’s sister Marina as well.
“Josh and Johanna, they were this wonderful example of parents in love, parents who made his dreams come true,” Tacker said. “They made sure he had the best childhood he could.”
Josh Sanders struggled with health problems, and endured two kidney transplants during his life.
“There were a lot of battles in their lives, and most of them with his health,” Tacker said of the Sanders. “For them to take on these children made them a family, and it was a beautiful thing to watch.”
Josh Sanders died from a health problem at age 36, and the community railed around Johanna Sanders to help her raise her children — with other dads taking West on camping trips and his grandfather taking him fishing in Washington state.
“The community has always been so supportive, full of love, and everybody just doesn’t hesitate to jump to for my family,” Sanders said. “Our community is our backbone.”
Tacker said the family is comforted by the idea that West’s father is waiting for him in the afterlife.
“There’s some peace of mind that Josh is there to hold him in Heaven,” Tacker said.
West and his mother remained close as he grew up, and he confided in her as he would a friend, Sanders said.
“Whether it be about smoking pot or something he did wrong I wouldn’t necessarily approve of, he’d kind of see my reaction and say, ‘well, I’m only telling you because you’re my best friend,’ ” Sanders said.
“It was special,” Sanders said. “I know lots of other moms don’t have that.”
Athlete excelled in multiple sports
A standout athlete at Morro Bay High School, West had a passion for sports even as a child, Sanders said.
West started baseball at about 5 years old, and loved it immediately, she said.
“He loved it. He thought everybody was there to watch him,” Sanders said, noting that West called everyone in the stands his “fans.”
When West was about 7, a friend brought their motor home to his house. He’d never seen one before, so he was excited to explore it, Tacker said.
“He got in it and he thought it was a palace,” Tacker said.
He found a foam finger in one of the drawers, and ran out of the motor home waving it in the air.
“He said ‘Look! My fans!’ ” Tacker recalled. “He knew he was astute in sports at 7, and he knew that he would have fans.”
As West grew up, he preferred football and wrestling, and excelled in both sports, Sanders said.
“He was very competitive,” Sanders said. “Winning meant a lot to him, whether it be just himself winning or his whole team.”
West was captain of the football team at Morro Bay High, and won Most Valuable Player honors on each of his sports teams, Sanders said.
When the family re-watched his football game recordings, they noticed that much of the commentary was about West.
“His name is peppered throughout the whole broadcast because he was an outstanding player,” Tacker said. “’Here’s Justin West coming up the field! There’s Justin West making a touchdown!’”
As an adult, West was helpful, kind and adventurous, Sanders said.
“(He was) just willing to lend a hand and help get it done,” Sanders said. “Lifting anything heavy, he’s always the first person to run up and grab it.”
West enjoyed cooking, fixing cars, fishing and dirt biking — he especially loved spending time outdoors, Sanders said.
He also was a charismatic conversationalist, his family said.
“He had the gift of storytelling. He was so animated, so believable,” Tacker said. “He was very captivating to his audience of one or ten or 20, whoever was listening.”
Tacker noted that West was an old soul, because “in the storytelling, there’s the wisdom that you would not see necessarily in such a young person.”
As a child, West discovered a passion for World War II history after hearing stories from his grandfather, who survived the German invasion of Holland.
West carried that passion for history with him to adulthood, and he planned to attend Cal Poly to become a high school history teacher and football coach, Sanders said.
Tacker started a GoFundMe fundraiser in honor of West. As of Monday, it had raised $11,670 toward a $15,000 goal.
The family plans to use the funds for West’s memorial celebration, and also to purchase a piece of equipment to donate to the Morro Bay High School football team in West’s honor, Tacker said.
“He packed a lot in his short life, and he had a big heart,” Tacker said.
